Childhood Innocence
by muzikchic4eva
Summary: Mikan is left with the Hyuuga family when she is one and a half years old. Mikan and Natsume grow up together and as time passes, they must avoid the people after them and their friends. NatsuMikan; a story before attending Gakuen Alice
1. Prologue: First Meetings

**I finally took theme to type up this fanfic! I had this idea bugging me since last summer, surprisingly while on an airplane thinking about Gakuen Alice. My fanfic ideas pop up in the most randomest times and places.**

**I've been getting worried because I don't want it to seem as if I copied someone else's idea, since a lot of people have written stories where Natsume and Mikan grew up together. I hope the rest of the story is all my idea. **

**Their ages don't match up with the actual manga so no confusion!**

**Spoiler Alert: This contains spoilers for people who didn't read up to the Time Travel Arc (Is that what it's called?) or in other words, didn't read up to the past story. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

* * *

**

Prologue: First Meetings

A woman sat on a fluffy couch with a baby in her arms as she playfully tickled the baby. The baby laughed in a semi high-pitched voice that was undoubtedly feminine. The woman's layered raven hair hung down across her face as she leaned down the kiss the forehead of her child.

Beside her, a toddler sat next to his mother as he watched his younger sister's happy face. He had inherited his mother's looks and (by what his parents have seen so far) his mother's personality.

When his mother abruptly stopped and looked at the door with widened eyes, he stared at her with surprise as she quickly handed him his younger sister.

"Natsume, stay with Aoi, okay? I'll be right back." The woman rushed through the apartment to look for her husband. When they met in the hallway, one look at her was all it took for him to understand.

"Honey, she's here with Mikan!" The woman was anxious as she told him. Her eyes widened again as she moved swiftly to the door regardless of her husband's cries of "Kaoru!" She opened the door to reveal a woman with long brown hair with matching eyes. In her arms was a one and a half-year old girl with her mother's features except her bangs split in the middle. Kaoru hugged her tightly as her friend sobbed into her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Kaoru-senpai. But I was just so lonely…" She managed to say between sobs. Kaoru just rubbed her back murmuring "It's okay, Yuka, it's okay."

Natsume watched this with curiosity. Who was his mother hugging? Wasn't the little girl being squished?

Aoi tugged on Natsume's sleeve for attention. But when she didn't get it, she began to wail uncontrollably. Natsume stared at his sister and glanced at his mother to come quickly and help.

Kaoru let Yuka in and she went over to Aoi to rock her back and forth to sleep. Aoi calmed down and was soon sleeping.

Yuka had made herself comfortable in a chair by the couch Natsume was sitting on. Mikan was clinging to her mother, Yuka, as she apprehensively looked at her surroundings. Yuka took note that Natsume looked very similar to Kaoru and was staring at Mikan. She smiled.

Kaoru put Aoi down and looked at Yuka. Yuka had lost some weight and her eyes were slightly drawn with worry despite her relaxed position on her chair.

"Yuka, you… Where have you been?" Kaoru's voice was slowly edging anger. Natsume ahs seen her like this whenever he got in trouble and knew that the other woman "Yuka" was too. A poor attempt of a smirk filled his face.

"Kaoru-senpai. I-I'm sorry about leaving without telling you. Y-you're still angry-"

"OF COURSE I'm still angry! You disappeared on me! It was winter at that time and Mikan could've gotten sick! Where could you go for food, for shelter? You worried the hell out of me! You're lucky Natsume and Aoi are here in this apartment or you would've gotten worse than a yelling!"

Yuka was trembling as Kaoru walked over to her. Natsume watched with amusement as Yuka flinched as Kaoru pulled up her hand as if to slap her. Yuka kept her eyes closed as she waited for the impact. Maybe it was a bad idea to come.

Yuka yelped in surprise as her cheek was being pinched affectionately. Kaoru laughed.

"I was only yanking your chain, Yuka. I would never ever slap you. Yes, I was worried like hell so don't ever do it again to me, okay?" Kaoru gently let go and saw Mikan. She smiled brightly as she picked Mikan up. Mikan panicked and stretched out her arms to her mother, clearly not liking the person who picked her up.

"Mikan, you grew so much! Last time I saw you, you were as little as Aoi! And now you're a year and a half old!" Kaoru cooed and Mikan instantly liked her. She smiled and wrapped her tiny arms around Kaoru's neck. Yuka looked on happily as her daughter stayed in Kaoru's arms.

"Ah, Kaoru-senpai. That's your son, right? Is he the same age as Mikan?"

Kaoru sat down next to Natsume and ruffled his hair. Natsume and Mikan looked at each other; one with curious eyes and the other with grumpy eyes. "Not quite. His name's Natsume. He's about a year older than Mikan. I had him stay with relatives because of all the Gakuen Alice Agents after us. While I was pregnant with Aoi, you came during that time and gave birth to Mikan. After Aoi's birth, I had Natsume come back because he's got to see his cute little sister!" Kaoru chuckled.

"Mikan, youg et along with Natsume, got it? You'll be childhood friends at one point." Yuka giggled as she set Mikan on her lap. Meanwhile, Mikan and Natsume continued to stare at each other.

Natsume didn't like how she was getting all the attention. He unconsciously set her shirt sleeve on fire and it was followed with a scream of shock. Mikan was crying as Yuka and Kaoru fussed over the shirt with a wet cloth. Mikan buried her head in Yuka's shoulder as Kaoru lightly scolded Natsume who had started to look feverish. Kaoru's husband immediately came with medicine and water which Natsume swallowed before going to sleep.

Kaoru looked apologetically at Yuka. "Sorry about that. Natsume has a fire alice. He msut have gotten jealous of Mikan-chan," Kaoru looked sorrowfully at Natsume. "He's so similar to me. Appearance, maybe personality, but especially his alice type. He has the alice type that shortens lifespan. He always gets a fever after he uses his alice." She stroked his hair.

In the apartment building's lobby, rushed footsteps could be heard. Yuka's eyes widened and Kaoru realized who it was in the lobby. The Gakuen Alice agents who were after them.

"Yuka, hurry, teleport away! Before they come." Kaoru quickly motion Mikan to go to her mother.

Yuka shook her head and lightly pushed Mikan towards Kaoru. She gave Kaoru an alice stone and was crying her heart out. "Please, protect her. I'm sorry, leaving Mikan with you but I just know… her alice and Natsume." Yuka hugged and kissed MIkan one last time before pushing something into Mikan's little hand. As Yuka teleported, the last thing Kaoru heard was "I'll be in the country or the city. Be safe and well…"

_-~.ChildhoodInnocence.~-_

Kaoru could hear the voices from the lobby yelling that she teleported again and wasn't here. Kaoru sighed in relief as she looked down at Mikan who was wailing for her mother. Kaoru looked back at the alice stone in her hand. Two alice stones she received from Yuka so far, and she even gave one to Mikan also.

What did Yuka mean by "her alice and Natsume"? Was Mikan's alice the same as her father? Kaoru smiled. Yuka was always thinking for others. But as long as Natsume doesn't attend the academy, he's perfectly fine.

Kaorus turned to Mikan when she felt her hugging her leg. She picked Mikan up and embraced her tightly. "I'm your Auntie, okay? Call me Auntie, Mikan."

"Aundwie."

"Welcome to the Hyuuga family. You'll be my niece, Mikan Sakura."

_-~ChildhoodInnocence.~-_

Two weeks later, everyone was at a funeral. Everyone was crying either silently or loudly in Hyuuga Kaoru's memory.

Natsume stood beside his father while his small hands clutched a necklace that hung around his neck. It was a present from his mother the day before her car accident. She had told him to protect Aoi, Dad, and Mikan. Especially Mikan. When Natsume was horrified at this, Kaoru laughed while she reassured him that he must protect his sister and dad as much as Mikan. But Mikan's situation was more serious than the rest. Whatever 'situation' and 'serious' meant.

He gripped the two stone pendants more tightly throughout the small funeral service.

_-~InnocentSelf.~-_

That night, Natsume and Mikan crawled next to their dad and 'uncle' in the bed. Aoi slept in the crib nearby and slept peacefully, although Natsume could hear her toss and turn. He turned his head to look at Mikan who lay between him and Dad. Looking at her sleeping face, Natsume smiled as he thought, "Although I don't like her, I guess I could protect her. For Mom."

Mikan smiled as she unconsciously snuggled closer to Natsume.

* * *

**There goes the prologue. In this chapter, they're still toddlers. So we get baby Natsume, baby Mikan, and even younger baby Aoi. It was cute~**

**In the prologue, Natsume is about year older than Mikan, making him two years old. Mikan is one year old. Aoi is still not a year old, but probably a few months apart from Mikan. **

**Please review~ they are greatly appreciated. =) **


	2. Day 1

**I haven't updated my stories in a while! I got caught up in reading so many new awesome fanfics so I guess I forgot to write my own… hehe. Not only that, I've been caught up in schoolwork trying NOT to procrastinate like I usually do… I tell you, it's not easy trying to fix it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice! It'd be cool if I did, though…**

* * *

Six Years Later

"Natsume-nii, you PERVERT!"

"Polka, you showed your underwear to me. Wear shorts underneath that skirt of yours. Why the hell do girls wear their skirts short?"

"Onii-chan, your language…"

"Sorry, Aoi."

Mikan had tripped over her own feet in a rush to get to the bathroom to fix her hair at the last minute. Unfortunately, Natsume was right behind her so he saw her underwear as she fell.

Mikan went crying to the kitchen. "Uncle, Natsu-nii is being mean again!"

Hyuuga Ioran looked up from the pancakes he was making. "Don't be mean to your cousin, Natsume. When will you ever stop teasing her?" He shook his head lightly at Natsume while smiling eyes held a suggestive twinkle at Natsume, who didn't miss it.

"Shut up, Dad." Natsume sat in one of the chairs at the table. He learned about Mikan's true identity when he turned five three years ago. It was then he finally fully understood his Mother's message to him the day before her accident. Coincidently, it was the last words she spoke to him. She left her work early the next morning while he was asleep. So he hung on to his mother's words.

To summarize everything, the girl who now sat across from him was not Mikan Sakura the cousin, but Mikan Yukihara, and the Academy will do anything to capture her mom Azumi Yuka. That meant the Academy might use Mikan to get Azumi. Although they weren't blood-related, Natsume saw her as a sister and would protect her. But was it a cousin-cousin relationship? Or was it like a sister-brothe relationship? It became a little different ever since he found out about her. Ioran knew that, so every time Natsume was caught teasing Mikan, he got that suggestive twinkle in his eye.

Ioran thought Natsume had a crush on Mikan. Of course, Natsume didn't think so. The difference was just that their relationship became more casual and not as 'sibling-like'.

Of course, Ioran smirked at this. His advice? Read some manga.

_~.Childhood Innocence.~_

"Class, we have two new students today. Will you two come in?"

Natsume and Mikan walked into the classroom. Natsume was wearing a plain T-shirt with stripes at the end of the sleeves with cargo pants. Mikan wore a skirt, a tank top, and a striped cardigan.

While Natsume stayed quiet with his hands in his pockets, Mikan bowed and said, "My name is Sakura Mikan. Nice meeting you! Oh, and he's my cousin Hyuuga Natsume."

The teacher nodded, and she finished writing their names on the chalkboard. "Okay, Natsume and Mikan, you may sit behind Ruka and Hotaru."

Everyone whined in disappointment. But Ruka noticed something. Natsume had an aura around him that made people not come too near. But that aura always softened towards Mikan.

"Hey, Hyuuga-kun! Did you know?" A few of the girls approached Natsume. Ruka tried to ignore it. He didn't really have any thoughts of being friends with the new kids. He saw Mikan trying to make small talk to Hotaru, who proceeded to take picture of Mikan who didn't realize that Hotaru would sell them later to the others.

"Ruu-chan has an alice that makes him be nice to animals! You know, alices are special powers!" the girls squealed. Ruka paled as he heard this. They were trying to use him as a conversation topic?

Natsume turned to Ruka, a look of surprise on his face that wasn't hidden. Ruka turned red from embarrassment, which quickly turned to anger at his classmates. He ran out of the classroom. He didn't need to hear another someone ask him to demonstrate his alice. He had enough of it for the past five years.

Mikan was looking out of the window, and she saw Ruka panting by the trees. She gasped in horror when she saw someone come up behind him and press a cloth to his mouth. She shrieked in a small voice.

She rushed to Natsume's side and tugged on his sleeve. "Natsume-nii… Outside the window," she squeaked and led him to the window. Under her breath, she kept saying frantically, "what should we do, what should we do?"

He gazed out the window to see Ruka struggling with the men holding him by the arms, and he finally saw the man slip the cloth over his mouth. "Tch." Natsume opened the window and dropped down to the ground. Mikan's eyes widened, and just as Ruka had down before, ran out of the classroom with her body almost flying down the stairs at the speed she was going.

Natsume landed feet-first and rolled to the ground once before standing back up andrunning towards the forest. He kicked the guy holding Ruka on the head.

"You brat!" The other kidnappers yelled as they pointed knives at Natsume. Natsume's eyes narrowed, and soon the kidnapper's hands were set on fire. "You monster!" They roared in half rage and fear.

And then, Natsume was tackled to the ground by the small figure running behind him.

Mikan landed with her arms around him as she used her nullification alice on Natsume. She felt him reflexively using his alice against her, but soon realized he couldn't. They had been in this situation too many times to count, so by the first ten seconds, Natsume understood that it was Mikan.

Mikan went off Natsume and as soon as he was facing her, she slapped him. "Stupid Natsume-nii! How many times did we tell you NOT to use your alice? Uncle or I can't save you every time! You know the consequences of what could happen! Stop making us worry!" She sat down crying.

Ruka was watching with shock at Mikan's sudden outburst. But Mikan didn't care at what anyone thought. Slapping Natsume was the only way that he would listen to her. And she was venting off annoyance for peeking at her underwear in the morning.

Gently, Natsume patted her head although a scowl was on his face for being tackled again. "Fine. Sorry, Polka."

Mikan was moving his hand of her face, when she saw one of the kidnappers appear behind Natsume. "No!" Her eyes were wide with fright.

BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!

The kidnapper fell to the floor and Mikan looked up to see Hotaru standing there. She was holding some kind of gun and her face clearly said that she was annoyed at everything.

Hotaru turned to Ruka. "Seriously, Nogi. You're always getting into trouble."

"Shut up, Imai!"

At a closer look of the two, Ruka had short blonde hair and blue eyes, while Hotaru had short raven hair and violet eyes. When Mikan saw the two, they were like opposites.

They heard two clicks, and Hotaru was suddenly holding a camera. She first took a picture of Ruka's flustered face and then a picture of Natsume and Mikan. Mikan had a confused look on her face, as to why her and Natsume.

Then she realized that Natsume had his arms around her in a protective brotherly embrace that many people could misunderstand as something else.

Mikan pried his arms off her (again, it wasn't something new to Mikan, because on countless occasions when they were little toddlers Natsume had her and Aoi in that protective embrace from the men that had always chased them and Uncle). She turned to Hotaru and started running after her.

"HOTARU-CHAN! Give me that camera!" She yelled as she chased Hotaru around the school.

~CI~

"So you're an alice too? I have the animal pheromone alice, but I guess yours is fire?"

"There's no 'I guess' about it. It was plain to see."

Ruka and Natsume were now sitting on the roof, backs against the door in companionable silence.

"AGHH! HOTARU-CHAN!"

"That's what you get."

"You are so mean~. Give me the camera already!"

"No, it's my money."

"Why, you… when I get off the stairs-" Mikan slammed open the door.

BAM!

Natsume and Ruka lay in an awkward position on the floor in front of the door, having been pushed by the door they had been leaning on. Natsume turned around and glared at Mikan.

Mikan sweat-dropped. "Ehehehe… Oops." She ran behind Hotaru, who of course walked away, leaving Mikan alone.

Suddenly, Mikan had an idea. "Natsume-nii, I can always tell Uncle that you almost used your alice on me again…"

Natsume paled. Another two-hour lecture about teasing Mikan and relationships? He paled. "You wouldn't."

Mikan grinned. "Oh yes I would," she continued in a teasing voice. "Then you get the two-hour conversation about I-don't-know-what-"

"Just shut up. My ears are bleeding from your voice. And I got the point already. No glaring. Happy?"

Mikan grinned. "Yup!"

In the floor before them, the school bell rang. Mikan jumped in surprise. "We skipped the whole day of school? Uncle will be upset again… Oh well! It's time to go home, Natsume-nii. Natsume-nii? AGHH, YOU JUMPED DOWN AGAIN, YOU MEANIE!" She yelled down the edge of the room to the small figure on the ground.

Mikan could only go "grrr" and rush down the steps from the roof.

Hotaru and Ruka stared at each other. The new kids sure were a handful to keep up with.

* * *

**So… how was it? I hope it was good. But there's an insight to an eight-year old Natsume and a seven-year old Mikan who grew up together! Yay!**

**Please R&R! it'll make me so happy!**


	3. To leave?

**Back again with CH. 3~ it's kinda hard to write, because I'm trying to balance three stories at once, and I know that has got to be the stupidest thing I've done… I mean, yeah, I love my stories! But I'm finding it so hard to concentrate on each story… And these days, I love reading fanfics rather than writing it. Baaad Lynn.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GA! But it'd be totally awesome if I did.**

* * *

The Next Day

"Hotaru-chan! Good morning!" Mikan called out, waving her arms. Natsume stood nonchalantly behind her, his hands in his pockets.

Hotaru gave one look at the smiling Mikan before taking something out of her sleeve.

BAKA!

She lay on the floor, with a bump on her head. She tearfully looked up at the violet-eyed girl in front of her. "Mou, Hotaru-chan! How did you get that?"

Hotaru looked at the object in her hand. It looked like part of a whole bunch of metal and fabric scraps combined. It had a cloth surrounding her wrist, and the place where it shot out of looked like part of a piece of plastic, maybe from a frisbee. Beneath the plastic was a spring taken from a small jack-in the-box, and connected to that spring were cotton-and-cloth-covered small marbles. If you pulled a certain string connected to the end of the spring, you could release a small "bullet" from her gun.

"And how could you get the 'BAKA' sound?"

Hotaru wordlessly pulled out a voice recorder from her pocket. She pressed a button and it made the 'BAKA' sound.

"I don't have the right materials to make a proper BAKA gun. So I just deal with this."

"That's so awesome, Hotaru-chan! You're like those people who make things!"

"Those people, Polka, are called 'inventors'. You, being your stupid self, probably forgot that," Natsume muttered, a small smirk on his face.

"Mou, Natsume-nii! I'm not stupid!" Mikan pouted, her arms crossed in frustration. Natsume nonchalantly ignored her, his hands in his pockets.

"You are," Hotaru said as she inspected her BAKA gun. "Or else I wouldn't have hit you with my BAKA gun."

"Hotaru-chan too?"

Natsume just gave Mikan a smirk while Mikan threw her hands up in disbelief. Then she became upset, and her shoulders sagged slightly.

"Is something wrong, baka?" Hotaru asked, noticing Mikan's sad mood.

"Huh?" Her shoulders straightened, and her face brightened as she smiled. "No, nothing's wrong! Everything's just peachy!"

Natsume snorted. _If that's sarcasm, then I never knew she had it in her to be sarcastic. _

After giving her a you-are-hiding-something look, Hotaru sat down in her seat, and school started like any other day.

_~.CI .~_

"So…" Ruka trailed off. He didn't know how to talk with the oppressively silent friend next to him. First of all, he didn't even know what to talk about. All he really figured out yesterday was that Hyuuga Natsume was his name, he has a fire alice, and he's Mikan's cousin.

It was recess, and the whole class was outside playing soccer. After a while, it seemed that the class excepted Natsume as one of their leaders, and he was already popular. Everyone was now resting on the grass, and Ruka wanted to talk to another alice, especially since he didn't know any others.

"Um… So is your whole family alices? Or are you like me, and is an alice from a family of non-alices?"

"Hn. You ask a lot of questions, Nogi. But yeah, my whole family are alices. Dad, Aoi, and I have a fire alice, while Polka has a nullification alice."

"Wow… that's really cool! A whole family of alices…"

Natsume gave him a look. "It may seem all interesting to you, but it's usually more trouble. With all the Academy investigators and different peons chasing after us, it makes us move a lot."

"Wait… Aoi?"

"My sister."

"Oh. Hyuuga-kun-"

"Just call me Natsume."

"Fine then, you call me 'Ruka'. Like friends."

Natsume grinned. "Riight."

Mikan ran over, panting. "Hi, Ruka-kun. Natsume-nii isn't being a bother right? If he is, I'll set him straight!"

"Hn. So little trust, Polka?"

Mikan turned red at the nickname. "I SAID, stop calling me that!"

He shrugged, and Ruka started laughing. It was funny watching them argue; it reminded him of how close they were.

Mikan looked dejectedly at Ruka, her face saying "traitor!" at him. But she smiled anyways, and she ran off.

Natsume grinned. "That girl, always going out of her way for others…" a faraway look went into his eyes, and Ruka looked confusedly at him.

"Natsume?"

"It's nothing. Sorry."

"No, it's ok…" Ruka still looked confused at him, but said nothing.

_~.CI.~_

"Onii-chan! Onee-chan! Welcome back!"

A seven year old girl stood in the doorway, her crimson eyes sparkling happily. Mikan beamed at her as she stepped into the house, and Natsume walked by with a usual 'hn'.

"What was school like today? Tell me tell me!"

"Aoi, it's not going to change every day. It's the same normal school. Go to school, come back from school." He said to the ecstatic girl in front of him, while dropping his backpack in the hallway.

"Natsume-nii, stop being mean," Mikan said and she turned to Aoi. "It was really fun!"

As Mikan spoke of the many fun things they did at school, he walked into another room where his dad was. "Hey, Dad."

Ioran looked up, and smiled. "Hi, Natsume. How was school?"

"It was ok. Is that Mom?" Natsume pointed at the picture that his dad was drawing.

"Yeah. I was drawing your mom." He looked fondly at the picture frame hanging on the wall of a woman who looked strikingly familiar to Natsume. Natsume stared at the picture, trying to see her in the drawing his dad was drawing.

"Hn. It looks nothing like Mom." Natsume started to go outside the door.

"What? Natsume! Don't insult my drawings!" He yelled after Natsume, who smiled.

Mikan ran after Natsume, who started going into his room. Mikan rushed in after him before he could close the door, and plopped herself on his bed.

"Polka. Get off my bed."

Mikan stuck her tongue out at him, and began swinging her legs on the edge. He sighed, and began cleaning around his room. He looked at the bookshelf and slowly began rearranging books.

"Natsume-nii… is it true that we're going to have to move since someone saw our alices already?"

He stopped, the book still in his hand, and he slowly put it back into the bookshelf. "I don't know. You should ask Dad about that."

"But the thing is, I didn't tell Uncle about yesterday yet. All I told him was that Ruka-kun was an alice."

"Well, even though kidnappers came, they're not the Academy people. So we should be fine."

Mikan smiled uneasily. She hopped off the bed, and made her way to the door. "Natsume-nii, I'm going to talk with Aoi-chan."

"And why do I need to know that?" Natsume asked, and he smirked at the fuming face Mikan made at him.

"Meanie!"

_~.CI.~_

"And today school was awesome! Hotaru-chan has this thing called a BAKA gun, and she made it all by herself!" Mikan was telling Ioran at dinner that night. She was excitedly recounting what happened at school, and AOoi couldn't seem to tire of listening about it.

"A BAKA gun?" He asked interestedly.

Natsume snorted. "A toy gun that shoots itself at idiots like Polka."

"NATSUME-NII!"

"Onii-chan, Mikan-nee isn't an idiot." Aoi said as she smiled.

"Sigh… I have a alice-worthless dad, an idiot cousin, and a burriko sister…" Natsume shook his head in exasperation.

Natsume covered his ears as a chorus of "Natsume!", "Natsume-nii!", and "Onii-chan, you're mean" rang throughout the room.

"So.. Uncle.. about yesterday…"

"Hm?"

Natsume rolled his eyes. "She means about Ruka being an alice."

Ioran's face brightened in recognition. "Ah! Ruka-kun. Yes, what about him?"

"Well, yesterday, he almost got kidnapped, so we both used out alices on the kidnappers," Natsume said.

His face became stern as he looked at Natsume. "I told you not to use your alice at all! And yet you used it?"

Mikan spoke up. "But there was no choice. Ruka-kun would have been already kidnapped! If we didn't use our alices, he wouldn't still be here!"

"That's true… then from now on stay low. If the Academy hears of this, and comes here we'll have to move again."

Aoi and Mikan stared down at their plates in disappointment. Aoi wanted to go to school and meet Ruka and Hotaru, whom Mikan told her all about. Mikan didn't want to leave after she made good friends with the people at school.

Dinner continued in silence for a few minutes, until the tension in the air suddenly burst like a bubble and the laughter of a family rang throughout the room.

Meanwhile, Ruka clamped his hands over his ears, blocking out all sounds of conversations. He wished the people who were confronting his mom would go away. The black-haired man with the mask seemed to make the air seem dead and hard to breathe in.

* * *

**And that's another chapter! **

**Pleaser R&R~**


	4. Masks

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice. **

Mikan and Ruka sat next to each other on the grass during recess, talking to each other about school, alices, and experiences with the Academy. Natsume was watching them from afar, making sure Ruka didn't do anything to his polka. Wait, HIS polka?

Ruka was oblivious to Natsume's half-confused glare towards him, and continued talking with Mikan. "So what's your alice, Sakura-san? You never told me."

"I have a nullification alice!" Mikan said happily and she grinned at him. "I'm bad at controlling I, but Uncle is patient with me, so it usually works out!" She grinned again, thinking about a memory. She turned to him with a excited look on her face. "What's your alice, Ruka-kun?"

He blushed, remembering his alice. "I…"

Mikan nudged him on the shoulder. "Come on, tell me! Tell me!"

Ruka shook his head furiously, his face still red from embarrassment. He frantically thought of a way to change the subject when he suddenly thought about the people from last night. "Say, Sakura-san… when the Academy came to try and get you into the school, did a guy with a white mask ever come by?"

She got a confused look on her face, and her head tilted to the side. "No.. it was always these cheerful but annoying people who came.. why, was that masked guy weird?"

Suddenly, a hand covered itself over Mikan's eyes, and she jumped. A small shriek escaped from her mouth, before she turned around. When she saw who it was, she whined in protest. "Natsume-nii! You're a big fat meanie!"

He smirked at her before pulling Ruka up to his feet. "Sorry, but I just realized I have something to talk about with Ruka, and you were in my way."

Mikan pouted. "Fine. Be that way. I'll go find Aoi-chan; she's supposed to come today."

"Hn. Do that then." He pulled Ruka to the roof, which had slowly become their personal talking place.

"So, you've been talking with Ruka, Mikan?"

"Agh!" Mikan jumped and looked behind her. Hotaru was standing there, slight curiosity on her face. "Hotaru-chan! You scared me!"

Hotaru shrugged. "You seem to be easy to scare, that's all. Anyways, what was Nogi talking about? A masked man?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was a new tactic to get students to go to the school!" Mikan said cheerfully, before laughing.

Hotaru didn't know how to reply as she thought back to last night.

_~Flashback~_

_She was trying out a new flashlight she bought and was taking a night stroll, a baka gun secured safely on her hand. She didn't know where her feet were bringing her, but she knew that she would be in huge trouble because she snuck out of her room in order to try out the flashlight. She kept the flashlight in front of her, illuminating the street she was walking on. _

_As she kept on walking, a house appeared on her right with a small group of men came out of it. She held the flashlight in front of her, beaming it right in their faces. They jumped at the sudden light, and she saw their faces. One had blonde hair, and the way he dressed almost screamed "girly" to her. The other was normal, although he had a slight frown on his face. They stared at her, as if they were wondering why she pointed the flashlight at them. Suddenly, a man came out of the house just then, and just by looking at him she felt cold. Everything about him was black, except for his skin color and white mask. She found his whole demeanor terrifying, and suddenly she couldn't keep standing anymore. _

_The front door opened, with a "Hurry up and leave, and don't ever come back! Don't you dare take my son from me!" A woman with curly blonde hair stood in the doorway. Her face was contorted into a fierce expression, as if she would hunt down whoever came in her way. _

_The man just simply went back to the car, ignoring her. The other two quickly followed. Hotaru could tell that they didn't like the man either._

"_Hi, why are you here? It's pretty late." _

_She turned to see the woman looking at her. The look of fierceness was gone, and she wondered if the woman had a split personality. The woman watched her more before suddenly her face lit up in recognition. _

"_Oh, if it isn't Hotaru-chan! I remember meeting your parents. Well, come on, get in. I can't exactly leave you outside." The woman rushed out to Hotaru, and she ushered her into her home before Hotaru could protest. The door closed behind Hotaru, and she looked up slightly annoyed at the woman she didn't know._

"_Where am I?"_

_The blonde woman smiled. "The Nogi residence. I think you know my son, he's your age."_

"_Nogi? This is his house?" She was surprised although she didn't show it. Even though it was a small town, she didn't expect his house to be THIS close to hers. _

"_Mom? Is that guy gone?" Ruka poked his head in the room. His eyes widened and his face flushed when he saw Hotaru standing there. "Imai?"_

_Hotaru nodded her head stiffly in greeting. "Nogi."_

_His mom clapped her hands, and her eyes had a spark in them. "You know each other already! Now, Ruka, take her up to your room and play a bit. I want to make sure I call her parents and see if she can stay the night."_

"_What?" He gaped at his mom; to say that Ruka was shocked was an understatement." Mom!"_

_Even Hotaru was protesting. "I don't think I need to stay here, I can find my way home on my own-"_

"_Nonsense. And with those Academy people out there, it's best if you stay here before they go to your house and manage to take you with them."_

_Hotaru's mouth opened but then closed. They had already seen her and they hadn't recognized her at all. Maybe they forgot her face? Nonetheless, she nodded before turning to Ruka. "Nog9i? Your room."_

_Ruka shot her an irritated look, but lead her up the stairs to his room. It was awkward, but they started talking about the messiness of his room, Mikan and Natsume, and the Academy people. Ruka reluctantly told her about the white-masked man, and how everywhere around him seemed deadly, as if he was dead himself. _

_Hotaru couldn't agree with him more, and she herself felt that the man was dangerous. _

_~End Flashback~_

"Hotaru-chan? Are you listening?"

She brought herself back to her conversation with Mikan before replying, "No."

"What? Come on Hotaru-chan, you missed it! I was talking about how the Academy people must be wearing masks as a disguise so it'd be easier to catch us!"

She stared at Mikan. She really believed that that was the case… She mentally shook her head before hitting her with the baka gun.

"OW! Hotaru-chan, even if those are cotton covered marbles, they HURT!" Mikan complained, rubbing her arm where she got hit.

Suddenly, a blonde haired man wearing purple skinny jeans and a frilly blouse came up to them while waving and smiling. "Ah, if it isn't Imai-san and Sakura-san! Hello! Sorry about yesterday, we completely missed you when we saw you. We're from Gakuen Ali-"

Hotaru immediately shot at him multiple times with her baka gun as Mikan grabbed her hand and ran.

"Hey! Don't go running away! I only want to talk!"

The other students began to scream, and headed indoors while calling teachers to get rid of the weird man that suddenly appeared in their playground. Another man was with him, except he had dark shorter hair and wasn't as enthusiastic. They usually welcomed strangers when they visited the school, but he didn't even go through the front door. He had just walked in directly to the playground behind the school.

As Mikan ran, she put up a nullification barrier. It was something she had learned a year ago but only just started to get the hang of.

"Hotaru-chan! Run faster!" Mikan said as she continued to run while holding Hotaru's hand. She didn't seem to run fast enough, and she was worried they'd get caught soon.

"But I can't… run fast."

Mikan gaped at her, before continuing to run. "Well you have to try, Hotaru-chan. Where's Natsume-nii?"

"They were headed towards the roof."

"They?"

"Hyuuga and Nogi, you idiot!"

"Ok! To the roo- OOF!" Mikan then ran into someone, and she and Hotaru toppled to the floor. Mikan looked up in anger, before yelling "HEY! That was rude!"

Mikan continued to yell at how rude they were before Hotaru said, "It's just Hyuuga and Nogi."

She looked at the person she bumped into to see Ruka on the floor with Natsume standing behind him. Ruka was beginning to stand up, and she started to stand up too when she remembered that the blonde guy was still after them. "Sorry, Ruka-kun. Natsume-nii, that guy-!"

Natsume looked behind her and smirked. "You know, he was never running behind you."

Mikan blinked. "Eh?" She turned around and true enough there weren't any signs for the weird guy at all. "But I was sure! He was calling after us!"

He looked at her warningly. "You have to be more careful. But why didn't they chase after you?"

"I don't know, Natsume-nii."

He looked at her, making sure she was okay. She seemed fine, although she was out of breath. Satisfied, he looked at Hotaru and eyed the baka gun that was still in her hands. She had explained how she made that one, and he knew that it was merely a child's toy. It wouldn't harm an adult. If she had the materials, she could make an authentic baka gun.

Then something clicked in his mind. "Imai. Why is the Academy after you?"

Hotaru finally pushed Mikan off herself before answering with a look. "It should be obvious."

"I figured that much. But what alice?" He asked annoyed.

She glanced at him coldly before ignoring him. "Come on Mikan, let's get away from these bugs."

"Bugs? Hotaru-chan, they're not bugs. They're people!"

Natsume snorted in laughter, and Hotaru just smiled lightly before motioning to go. Ruka smiled too, except a lot more wider than Hotaru.

Mikan smiled too (although she didn't know why they were laughing). Soon after returning to school through the back door, school continued like normal. But she couldn't help but wonder why Aoi hadn't shown up at school yet. She looked out the window from her classroom, the pencil on the floor where she dropped it. After trying to think some more, she pushed the thought away. Aoi probably decided to stay home with Uncle last minute, and was safely at home. She picked up her pencil and continued to happily listen to the teacher.

Natsume noticed it too, and he couldn't help but worry. He knew Aoi was coming today, she had announced it happily at breakfast. She was supposed to come during recess, but he was with Ruka talking on the roof about the masked man when that weird guy came-

He suddenly sat up, his eyes wide. He ran out the door, ignoring the calls of his teacher and the surprised shouts from his classmates. He could distinctly hear Ruka and Mikan running behind him, but they weren't on his mind at the moment.

His little sister was taken.

**Yay! Got a chapter done! I'm starting to like this story a lot. It's very fun to write, and I got to write some HotaruxRuka in this chapter! I adore that pairing. **

**As I'm writing this, it does seem like they're older than they actually are. They're supposed to be eight/nine. Exactly like in the manga. But they seem older. I should work on that.. **

**Thanks to all my reviewers! Love you guys so much! My writing can be pretty bad, so the fact that you review for my story is really heart-warming. **

**R&R!**


End file.
